Saints make more staff moves

Saints make more staff moves

Associated Press file photoNew Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton yells from the sideline during a wild-card game against the Detroit Lions in January in New Orleans. Payton visited the North Texas football team earlier this month.

New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton continued to re-tool his coaching staff Saturday with the addition of another assistant and moving running backs coach Bret Ingalls to the offensive line.

Ingalls, who has been a member of Payton’s staff since 2009, moves into Aaron Kromer’s spot as offensive line coach, and Michigan State offensive coordinator Dan Roushar was hired to be the new running backs coach.

Ingalls helped the Saints finish sixth in the NFL in rushing in both 2009, when they won Super Bowl XLIV, and in 2011.

Ingalls follows the path of Kromer, who was the Saints running backs coach in 2008 before becoming offensive line coach/running game coordinator when Doug Marrone left for Syracuse. Kromer resigned last month to become the Chicago Bears’ offensive coordinator.

Roushar, who served as Michigan State’s offensive coordinator/tight ends coach the past two seasons, has spent his entire 28-year coaching career in the college ranks. He was the offensive line coach for the Spartans from 2007-10 before being promoted to offensive coordinator in 2011.

Roushar’s coaching résumé includes two stints at Illinois, where he was a member of the same staff with Payton in 1996. In his second stint with the Illini, he coached running backs in 2003 and was offensive coordinator/running backs coach in ’04.

He has also worked as an offensive coordinator at Butler, Ball State and Northern Illinois, his alma mater. Roushar played quarterback for NIU in 1981 and ’82.

Last season, Michigan State junior La’Veon Bell won the Big Ten rushing title with 1,793 yards, the second-highest single-season total in school history.

Payton still needs to hire a secondary coach and assistant defensive line coach to complete his staff for the 2013 season.

Last week, he hired Rob Ryan as his new defensive coordinator and Stan Kwan as assistant special teams coach.